The Madras High Court has dismissed a plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the resignation of four All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) legislators and their subsequent induction into the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
A bench of chief justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and justice G Arul Murugan said that a CBI probe can be ordered only in exceptional cases supported by evidence of a prima facie offence, and not on the basis of vague allegations or suspicion.
The court held the allegations "entirely misconceived, devoid of specific factual details, and legally unsustainable" and said that political realignment does not amount to criminal misconduct in the absence of evidence.
The four AIADMK legislators - S Jeyakumar, P Sathyabama, K Maragatham Kumaravel and Dr E Subaya - had resigned from the assembly on May 25 and 26 and subsequently joined the TVK.
The petitioner had alleged that the MLAs would not have resigned so soon after contesting elections unless they had received "monetary inducements" or promises of office.
However, the bench said that the petition rested entirely on suspicion and conjecture and declined to order a CBI probe and dismissed the petition.
